


Weights and Measures

by NerdWItch



Category: The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-09
Updated: 2018-07-17
Packaged: 2019-06-07 21:07:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15227904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NerdWItch/pseuds/NerdWItch
Summary: Lord Elrond knows that raising young Estel is no easy task. His fate has long since been set in stone by the Valar. His job is to guide him to it. However, when two cousins from a distant land suddenly arrive, the Elf-Lord learns that there are some things even the greatest of prophecies cannot foresee and that family does not simply end with blood. Elrond/OC.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing except Maggie and Riley.
> 
> Warnings: I’ve been migrating my fics from fanfic.net onto here and this is a re-write. Yes, this is an -into ME- fic, if that's not your thing you don't have to read it but if you do, I can assure you it's not your usual one.  
> This is an idea that's lingered with me for a really long time, I've just not been sure if I should write it or not but I thought I'd give it ago. I love stories of Aragorn's childhood and there are far too few of them. This is also sort of inspired by the Lord of the Rings 2003 trilogy by ErinWood. If you haven't read it, do so it's awesome. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the first chapter :)

________________________________________

CHAPTER ONE

"Estel…what is the matter aier?" On a warm summer's evening, Lord Elrond found four-year-old Estel was curled up in the corner of his bed, sobbing loudly as he entered the room.

For the years that Estel had been living with them, the child was settling in just fine; he had gained the heart of many in Rivendell and the Elf-lord had to admit that he too was ensnarled and enchanted by the little one's charm. Estel looked up at Elrond who had now sat down beside him, tears were still streaming down his eyes and his pillow was wet from the tears.

Elrond had known Estel's mother, the lady Gilraen and as the beams from the sun shone on the young one's face, he was suddenly reminded of how much alike they were. Estel had inherited his mother's fair appearance and his father's personality. One day, Elrond thought, he would be the one to tell him about the fate of his father and mother and he dreaded it.

"'Dan…and 'Ro were being mean ada," said Estel in between his tears. Ah, thought Elrond and made a note to have a word with the twins afterwards.

"What they did they do, dear one?" By now, Estel had climbed onto Elrond's lap and his crying had subsided, although he was very clearly still upset.

"They said….orcs would get me if I'm not nice; and that there are monsters that eat human children."

"Monsters and orcs?" Elrond wasn't sure whether to laugh or not so instead he let out a sigh. Leave it to his sons to come up with something like that. Bringing up orcs with Estel was especially reckless given the faith of his father. Even if he might be too young to remember it now, someday those memories might come back to him.

"Estel, there are neither monsters nor orcs in Imladris. What Elladan and Elrohir told you was not true. Nothing here will ever harm you. " Elrond told him calmly

"But…Glorfindel says lying is bad." The child was sobbing uncontrollably now and Elrond pulled him close, whispering words in elvish to calm him.

"And indeed, Glorfindel is right."

"Why did they lie then?" Estel looked up at his father with confused eyes.  
"Elladan and Elrohir are your brothers Estel. Even if they do not always show it, they love you very much; as do I. Come now, it is much past your bedtime. Let us try to go back to sleep."  
________________________________________  
Lord Elrond wanted to scream. Perhaps if he had been a less than patient man he would have lost his temper a very long time ago. He wondered sometimes, if maybe this was the Valar's way of testing him or maybe they just wanted to see him suffer. Whichever it was, Elrond was sure that this was only the beginning of what was most likely going to be a very long day. A long, heavy silence lingered in his study as his two eldest sons, Elrohir and Elladan, both stared down shamefully at the floor avoiding at any cost their father's glance.

"Well," said the Elf-lord. "Who wants to go first? Speak now, I do not have all night."

Elladan was the first one to speak up. "It was an accident Adar." (Father) he said and it really had been.

"Oh, come on Adar, it was only a joke. We meant no harm by it."

"Estel is not yet old enough to understand the meaning of a mere practical joke Elrohir. He now believes there are monsters in his room and refuses to fall asleep. Do you have any idea of how long it took me to calm him down?" Elrond told them seriously. Elladan hated that voice, it meant that more than anything his father was disappointed and that was worse than him being angry.

"We're sorry," Elladan apologised with sincerity in his voice "It won't happen again.

"I'm sure you are but bath time and bedtime will be on you two every night for the following two month." Both twins were about to protest with a "what!" but the Elf-lord cut them off with a single gesture of his hand. "Estel is a part of our family now and you are his brothers; it is important he learns that he can trust you and look up to you and you need to earn his trust. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes Adar." Without saying anything further Elladan and Elrohir left their father's study in silence. Elrond once again sighed as he sat down by his desk. If it weren't for the fact that he was immortal, he was quite sure that one of these days he would grow grey hair.  
________________________________________  
"Do you think we disappoint him?"

The sky was always lit with stars in Imladris. Ever since they were children, Elrond had told Elladan and Elrohir that the stars were their ancestors watching over them and guiding them along their journey. As Elladan walked alongside his brother over a bridge, he wondered if perhaps their mother Celebrian was watching over them as well.

"Father loves us Elrohir; I just think he is a little preoccupied sometimes. You know what day is coming up soon."

"Aye." In a few days time, it would be the anniversary of their mother's death and he dreaded the thought of it. Their father would probably lock himself in his study and it would all be very awkward. For years he and Elladan had hunted the orcs who murdered and raped her but with no luck and the grief was still too near.

"Elladan, look." Something in the corner of his eye had caught Elrohir's attention. It was a body floating in the water by the riverbed. Nobody ever travelled this road, especially not humans. The two twins waded across the water to take a closer look at the body. It was a young woman, unconscious with a bloodied forehead, like she had been knocked out by someone or something.  
"We must take her to adar for healing. Come quickly now; Elrohir."  
________________________________________

"My Lord Elrond." By the Valar, what now? Elrond glanced up from his work as Glorfindel stood up in the doorway with an expression of urgency on his face. What had his sons done this time? A moment of peace, thought the Elf-lord, that's all I  
ask for.

"A body has been found by the border. A human; she is badly wounded my Lord and needs healing."  
________________________________________

Maggie woke up to the sound of unfamiliar voices around her and a bright light shining on her face. Where the hell was she? Was she dead? It felt like she had awakened from a strange dream that she couldn't quite recollect. She remembered hearing someone calling to her in an odd language but she couldn't remember the face. In fact, as far as she was concerned, everything was very much of a blur.

"Well, look who decided to join the land of the living." Seeing her cousin sitting next to her was definitely a sight for sore eyes even though he had a couple of scars and bruises on him. “For a moment there, I thought we’d lost you.” 

"Riley!" Maggie squealed gleefully, "Where are we and.…what the heck are you wearing?"

"Yeah I know," said Riley looking at his tunic, "It's not exactly New Look but it's pretty darn comfortable. What's the last thing you remember?"

"Not much, I'll be honest. What's going on?"

"Yeah…" said Riley "About that…"

"You are in Rivendell Lady Margaret; my name is Elrond, this my home and I am Lord of these halls." Maggie could have sworn her jaw dropped all the way down to the floor as the Elf-lord introduced himself. His voice sounded familiar, almost like the one she'd heard in he dream. She must have hit her head a hell of a lot harder than she first thought and there were only two words that came out of her mouth.

"…oh shit…"

To be continued…


	2. Chapter Two

CHAPTER TWO

MAGGIE:

When I opened my eyes the next morning, my head felt heavy and it was like I'd been hit by the worst jetlag imaginable. Except, I hadn't been travelling across time zones but rather across dimensions it seemed. Last night, before I fell asleep, I was trying to convince myself that this was all just some bizarre dream. That I would wake up back home and everything would be fine. Instead, I woke up to the bright morning sunshine piercing the bay windows of the room. As I slowly came to, I became more aware of my surroundings. Outside, I heard the waterfall in the distance and a gentle breeze filled the room. It seemed to be spring in Middle-Earth.

I searched the back of my mind for memories of the past few nights, but it was all still a blur. The further I reached the more impossible it seemed. It made no sense and yet it was clear that this was real. A dozen thoughts ran through my mind and I found myself becoming overwhelmed. How were we supposed to get home? Could we get home? What if we were stuck here with no way back?

"Oh god…"

A knock on the door caught my attention and I quickly composed myself before I said "come in.".

"Hey," Riley carefully walked into the room, dressed in clothes that seemed to have come from a theatre collection. A long robe that actually suited him.

"So," Riley leaned his arms against the balcony and looked over the view that was Imladris. How had we come here and perhaps most importantly, why? I looked at Riley and could tell that he had just as many questions as I did, but he was better at hiding his thoughts. "Middle-Earth, huh? Fancy that…I don't suppose we found a port-key by accident or something?"

I chuckled, not surprised that his humour was still intact. Witty comments and sarcasm had always been Riley's coping mechanism. Even as a child when things were rough at home, he'd always turned to humour.

I ran my hand through my hair and sighed. "Ri, I'm having trouble wrapping my head around the idea of elves. Physical, actual, living, breathing elves. You were always the Lord of the Rings fanatic, like, when are we? I don't see Frodo and the Hobbits anywhere." I felt myself getting nauseous again and bent down, head between my knees. For a moment, I thought I was going to be sick and Riley came to sit next to be but my insides were still intact.

"We're not in the War of the ring. This is before the war." Riley lowered his voice to a mere whisper so that nobody else could hear us, even if it was just the two of us in the room. "If I'd guess I would say this is a good few years before the ring, before the Hobbit, judging from the look of things. I could swear I overheard Lord Elrond speaking about Estel the other day and as far as I remember, Estel is the name the elves gave Aragorn when he was a child in Rivendell."

I blinked and looked up at my cousin. "What do you mean 'the other day?'" As far as I was aware, we'd both woken up around the same time but something in Riley's expression told me that wasn't the case.

"Before I tell you, you have to promise me not to freak out on me okay."

I crossed my arms and deliberately raised an eyebrow at him. "Tell me."

Riley took a deep breath, as if he was preparing himself for her reaction. "Okay so here's the thing. I've already been here three days before they found you. You've been unconscious for another three days."

"WHAT?!" I couldn't believe my ears, "You've been here nearly a WEEK?!" I was so angry I felt like I could hit him. I wouldn't, after all he's my only cousin but I was furious. I'd lost days and nobody had bothered telling me.

"Now I know what you're thinking Maggie, but just breathe a minute okay."

"I've lost three whole days and you didn't think it was an idea to tell me about that! Don't tell me to bloody breathe!"

"Well, I wanted to, but Lord Elrond said I couldn't because of you know the shock and all and apparently he was right."

"Okay, I need to leave." I needed air. Actual air. I needed to get out and not be confined to this bedroom. I could hear Riley calling out after me but I chose to ignore him and left him standing there.

In truth, anger wasn't the right way to describe how I felt at the moment. I'd stormed off leaving Riley alone at the balcony. More than anything, I just needed a few moments to myself, a few moments to think. Not only were we in Middle-Earth a place I'd known to be fictional, but I had no recollection of what had happened to me in the past few days. I didn't actually know where I was headed, as I walked through the halls of Rivendell, I just needed to go somewhere where I could thin. Of course, the last thing I expected was to bump into someone and fall bum first on the floor. The elf in front of her looked somewhat similar to Lord Elrond with the long dark hair.

"My apologies my Lady, the fault was mine entirely. My name is Elladan; it was my brother and I who found you by the river." Oh, I thought, suddenly realising that he was one of Elrond's twin sons. I wasn't sure what I had expected and so I didn't really know how to react either. He was a prince after all.

"You have a name too surely?" said Elladan with somewhat of a smirk on his face. Okay, now he was just taking the mick out of me, I thought.

Say something, I told myself, struggling to find words. Don't stare, just say something, "Uhm, yeah, sorry. I'm Maggie."

"Maggie, well it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm glad to see you recover. Now begging your pardon my Lady, I'm afraid I have to go find my good-for-nothing brother."

Elladan bowed and the left, leaving me speechless.

XXXXX

RILEY:

Maggie's anger was understandable. I'd had had more time to get used to the shock of it all. Sure, I hadn't really slept for several days. The only thing going through my mind was trying to think of a logical reason for this to happen but I just haven't been able find any. Every single part of me has been saying that this was impossible and that I must be insane but yet I knew that wasn't the case. I was stood there, breathing the air of Middle-Earth in the House of Lord Elrond. Just earlier, I had been having conversations with Elladan and Elrohir and even ran into young Estel. I knew that the best thing to do was to give Maggie a while, knowing what she was like but when I finally caught up with her it was nearly nightfall and they were back at the balcony.

"Do you remember the summer after my 6th Form graduation when I'd downed nearly an entire bottle of vodka on my own to the extent that I could barely walk and was practically serenading my love to Janet Henderson on the Coop car park? You helped out of that mess and you didn't tell your mum and dad because you know how they would feel about it, to protect them. Same reason to why I didn't tell you about this, to protect you. Maggie, Jesus Christ, you were gone and missing for three days and unconscious for another three. We have no idea of what happened to you and Lord Elrond felt that you might not be able to handle the shock of it all."

Over the years, Maggie and I had had a lot of arguments but they'd always worked it out one way or another. To me, Maggie had always been more like a sister instead of a cousin. I was raised by her parents because my own family had problems with alcohol addictions and drugs. So my aunt and uncle took me in and raised me as one of their own. Being close with someone means you fight sometimes but, I wouldn't let anything like this ruin our relationship. Especially when I had a feeling that we'd need each other more than anything right now.

"I'm not really angry with you," she told me after a while "I'm just scared. That's all."

I watched my cousin as she took a deep breathe but still the tears ran down her face. I knew how much she hated feeling vulnerable, but truth be told, she wasn't the only one who was terrified. I put my arm around her and for what seemed like hours, we sat there in silence. I thought about home and wondered if anyone had noticed we were gone. What would our family say? The uncertainty of things to come made me nervous but I wanted to be strong for my cousin's sake.

"I have a feeling we might be here for a while," I said after a while, "We best get used to things."

To be continued….

I changed the formatting a little bit and decided to write it from different point of views, I hope you enjoy it.


	3. Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear readers, if you don’t like my writing, please don’t leave hateful reviews or flame comments. I’m re-writing mostly for myself, this because I love this story and the characters and I wanted to do it a bit more justice than I had earlier. I’m aware that this type of story has been done and that it’s not for everyone.

 

**_CHAPTER THREE_ **

 

**MAGGIE:**

It took a few days but once the initial shock of everything wore off and I had accepted this new reality, I found I was actually able to enjoy just being in Rivendell. I was struck by how breathtakingly beautiful it was; hidden in a valley surrounded by mountains and located at the edge of river gorge. I often heard the river when I walking the pathways outside. I never ventured beyond the river though. I couldn’t quite explain it but, it felt as though it was safer to stay within the valley boundaries. Like it was protected by some kind of magic. It was, of course. I knew that but I still struggled to wrap my head around the fact that elves were real.

Lord Elrond had been nothing but kind and welcoming to us, even though we were complete strangers and not to mention human. I knew though, that Rivendell elves had more of a liberal opinion about humans than some others and so in one way, we’d been lucky to have ended up here.

Riley had been having the time of his life. He’d quickly settled and from what I could tell, formed a bond with Elladan and Elrohir; Elrond’s sons. If he wasn’t speaking to me, he was off with the twins who were showing him the land and to be honest, I had rarely seen him. It was good to see my cousin happy, for the first time in a long while. I knew though, that at some point we’d have to sit down and talk about the one question we’d both been putting off. How would we get home?

I sighed as I thought about home and felt my heart grow a heavy. A sense of guilt washed over me, because I hadn’t really allowed myself to consider the possibility that scared me the most. That we’d never be able to return home. One part of me wished that somehow, this would all turn out to be some sort of bizarre dream but I knew it wasn’t.  

My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by something or someone rushing into me, nearly knocking me over. I looked down and to my surprise saw a young boy, perhaps no older than four or five-years-old, with auburn hair and bright eyes. His eyes widened at the look of me and he instantly stumbled backwards, to Lord Elrond who was walking up towards us. Lord Elrond hadn’t particularly made his presence known but I got the feeling he was often rather busy and private. I must have been staring without realising because for a moment, Elrond’s eyes met mine and I felt a bit nervous, almost frightened.

“Estel,” said Elrond in a stern but also calm voice “Watch where you are going.”

“ _Ada_ ,” Estel tugged at Elrond’s robe and whispered into the elf-lord’s ear. “She’s pretty!”

I felt myself blush and smile.

“Come now,  _aier_ , introduce yourself to our guest.” said Elrond

Estel seemed to hesitate for a moment and I bent down so that I was his height. Even though I knew that this was Aragorn, it felt strange. He was just a young toddler, so unaware of what fate he had ahead of him. I knew there was no way Riley and I could ever share our knowledge of future events. 

“I’m Estel,”

“Hello Estel,” I said “I’m Maggie.

“ _Ada_ is taking me to see the horses, do you want to come?”

I loved the way children were so outspoken and Estel gave off this air of unapologetic glee which I could was instantly infectious.

“Estel, we mustn’t trouble Lady Margaret.” said Lord Elrond

“It’s no trouble at all,” I found myself saying before I could give it a second thought “I’d be happy to. Besides, I could do with some company. Seeing as my cousin seems to have abandoned me for your sons.”  

For a brief moment, I could swear I saw the hint of a smile on Elrond. “Very well, we would be happy to have your company.”

And like that, my plans for the day seemed changed and I went with Lord Elrond and Estel.

 

**XXXXXXX**

**RILEY**

I saw Maggie in the distance, walking with Lord Elrond and Estel. I was glad to see that she seemed to be calmer at last. I’d been pretty worried about her because I knew she still didn’t remember anything about what had happened to her. When she’d been found by Elladan and Elrohir, she was in a bad state. I remember how the twins had been speaking to each other in Elvish, as if they didn’t want me to understand but I still had a feeling. The thought of my cousin being hurt by someone or something was hard to bear. In a selfish way, I was glad Maggie didn’t remember what happened to her. I just couldn’t see the point of her enduring unnecessary trauma.

“You seem distracted?” said Elladan as he and Elrohir walked up to me. We had been out for a ride, scouting the area. I’d forgotten how much I loved being on horseback and it gave me a sense of freedom I hadn’t felt in a very long time.

“Is something the matter?” Elladan asked

“I was just worrying about my cousin.” I admitted “She’s still not remembering anything.”

“Maybe  _Adar_  can help with that?” suggested Elrohir “He can sometimes see things that are hidden, perhaps your cousin will let him help her?”

I wasn’t sure Maggie would be up for that, but that was a choice she’d have to make herself. I made a note to myself to at least discuss it with Maggie later on. 

“We’re riding out across the border.” said Elrohir “There are rumours of goblins and foul creatures nearby where they should not be. Perhaps you’d like to see some more of this world.”

 _Goblins_ , I thought to myself.  Never in a million years did I think I would find myself in a land where I would have the opportunity to scout for goblins and things that are meant to be from fairy tales. Above all, it felt good to be on horseback again and I had memories of my early teens. I was rusty though, no denying that but nothing a bit of practice couldn’t fix.

 

**XXXXXXX**

 

**ELROND:**

Our guests appeared to be adjusting well but despite their seemingly kind nature, their presence still bothered me. I didn’t disbelieve their claim to be from a different world, such things have been written about in prophecies. What concerns me the most is their reason for being here and Galadriel’s warning. I knew I needed to seek counsel and reminded myself to speak with Glorfindel later on to decide what to do about our strange guests.

 

 

**To be continued…..**

Perhaps not the most exciting chapter but nonetheless please leave a review

 


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